1 


THE 

HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK 


SKETCHES   OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BREEDS 
OF  VERMONT  HORSES     . 


By   ALLEN    W.    THOMPSON 


» 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  IVIember  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/horsesofwoodstocOOthom 


OLD  GREEN  MOUNTAN  MORGAN  (HALE'S). 

Ch.  li.,  bred  by  Nathaniel  Whitcomb,  Stockbridge,  Vt.  Foaled  1834;  sire,  Old  Gifford  Morgan 
(Wier's).     Died  1862. 

\_E}igraving  locincd by  yoJin  H.  JVal/ace,  Esq.,  Ed.  "  Wallace's  l\Io>ithlyy\ 


THE 


HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK 


WITH 


SKETCHES  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BREEDS  OF 
VERMONT  HORSES 


BY 

ALLEN  W.  THOMPSON 


ILLUSTRATED 


CAMBRIDGE 

^rintcti  at  tJjc  I5i)jcr^itie  ^re^^ 

1887 


Copyright,  1887, 
By  ALLEN  W.  THOMPSON. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge: 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  0.  Houghton  &  Co. 


HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK. 


As  far  back  as  we  have  the  history  of  the  horse,  he  has  played  an  im- 
portaut  part  in  the  welfare  of  man,  whether  in  the  time  of  peace  or 
war.  Almost  a  companion  with  some,  a  pet  and  idol  with  many.  When 
the  most  of  the  horses  of  the  country  were  down  with  the  great  epizootic 
of  1872 ;  when  the  streets  of  the  cities  were  blockaded  as  it  were  with 
,  all  kinds  of  merchandise ;  when  mail-carriers  had  to  carry  the  mails  on 
their  backs,  —  then  all  could  see,  realize,  and  appreciate  the  value  of  the 
horse  to  man.  It  would  have  been  well  if  some  of  the  past  generations 
had  told  more  in  regard  to  his  good  traits  and  qualities.  The  Arab 
takes  pride  in  claiming  that  his  horse  traces  in  his  breeding  to  the  stud 
of  Solomon.  Though  it  is  not  true,  it  shows  that  he  realizes  the  value 
of  blood  and  the  quality  of  his  horse.  In  the  history  of  the  settle- 
ments of  nations,  cities,  and  towns  much  is  said  as  to  the  first  settlers, 
but  scarcely  anything  of  their  domestic  animals.  This  is  not  right ;  it  is 
selfish.  Yet  the  horse  is  spoken  of  more  in  history  than  any  of  the 
other  domestic  animals,  and  it  shows  a  little  how  he  has  been  regarded. 
Now,  when  we  have  blood  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  as  well  as  blood 
horses  and  pure-bred  fowls  of  all  kinds,  each  should  have  their  share 
of  praise.  Yet  the  horse  will,  for  some  time  to  come,  receive  the  lion's 
share. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  soil  and  climate  have  much  to  do  with  pro- 
ducing poor  or  fine  animals.  It  is  said  of  Vermont  that  she  is  noted  for 
producing  fine  horses  as  well  as  great  men  ;  that  her  horses  are  much 
sought  for  in  the  markets,  on  account  of  their  tough,  wiry,  enduring 
constitutions  and  their  fine  style  and  make.  This  makes  it  desirous  to 
know  more  as  to  the  first  horses  of  Vermont,  their  breeding  and  origin. 
The  first  settlers  of  the  State  came  from  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  and  New  Hampshire,  and  they  took  with  them  their  horses 
and  other  stock.  From  Rhode  Island  was  introduced  the  blood  of  the 
Narragansett  pacer ;  from  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  the  thorough- 
bred English  horse.  At  this  time  the  English  thoroughbred  had  been 
quite  largely  bred  in  the  Connecticut  Valley.  A  number  of  the  purest 
blood  had  been  imported  from  England,  and  quite  a  number  from  New 


2  HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK. 

York,  New  Jersey,  and  Virginia.  The  Barb  horse  Ranger  was  imported 
to  New  London,  Conn.,  about  1765.  He  was  kept  at  Hartford  and 
vicinity  for  several  years.  Was  at  first  a  dapple  gray  fifteen  hands  high, 
and  of  the  finest  form,  symmetry,  and  finish.  His  great  value  was  that 
his  descendants  inherited  in  a  marked  degree  his  rare  qualities.  It  is 
admitted  that  he  was  the  best  Arabian  ever  taken  to  America.  There  is 
quite  a  story  as  to  his  origin,  and  how  it  was  that  he  was  taken  to  Con- 
necticut. It  may  be  and  it  may  not  be  true.  The  ridges  on  his  legs 
show  that  they  were  broken,  and  it  may  have  been  the  cause  of  his 
being  taken  to  this  country.  The  reason  of  his  being  taken  to  Virginia 
shows  his  great  value  as  a  stock  horse.  It  was  at  the  siege  of  Boston 
that  the  attention  of  Washington,  his  officers  and  staff,  was  attracted 
by  the  superior  horses  that  composed  the  cavalry  from  the  Valley  of  the 
Connecticut.  Upon  inquiry  it  was  found  that  they  were  mostly  by  an 
Arabian  horse  called  Ranger.  This  caused  the  Virginians  to  believe 
that  Ranger  would  improve  their  horses  at  home,  and,  through  the  advice 
of  Washington  and  Lee,  Captain  Lindsey  was  sent  to  see  and  buy  the 
horse,  if  he  thought  best.  This  he  did,  and  took  him  to  Virginia.  The 
thoroughbred  mares  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  were  largely  bred  to  him, 
and  the  cross  is  highly  prized  in  the  racer.  In  Virginia,  Ranger  was 
known  as  Lindsey's  Arabian. 

There  was  a  large  number  of  young  Rangers  kept  and  advertised  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  it  is  known  that  one  or  more  of  them  was 
taken  to  Vermont.  One  was  kept  at  Stowe  and  Morristown,  owned  by 
a  Mr.  Stewart,  a  counterfeiter.  He  said  he  was  never  afraid  of  the  offi- 
cers catching  him  if  he  could  get  the  start  of  them  on  his  horse.  The 
horse  General  Putnam  rode  down  the  declivity  of  one  hundred  steps, 
when  he  escaped  from  the  British,  was  by  Ranger,  One  writer  states 
that  Washington's  celebrated  gray  charger  was,  too.  This  must  be  con- 
sidered doubtful,  unless  Washington  obtained  him  when  at  Boston,  or 
soon  after.  Some  writers  have  claimed,  because  the  northern  part  of 
Vermont  bordered  Canada,  her  first  horses  must  have  been  largely  of 
French  or  Canadian  origin.  It  can  be  seen  how  absurd  this  claim  is 
from  the  fact  that  the  southern  part  of  the  State  was  first  settled,  and 
by  settlers  from  the  South,  who  took  their  horses  with  them.  As  the 
southern  part  became  settled,  the  settlers  pressed  North  from  the  South. 
The  southern  towns  were  settled  fifty  years  earlier  than  the  northern 
towns.  The  border  towns  of  Canada  were  mostly  settled  by  settlers 
from  Vermont. 

In  the  first  settling  of  the  country,  horses  could  only  be  used  as  beasts 
of  burden.  The  settlers  in  breaking  into  the  wilderness,  unless  by  the 
side  of  large  rivers,  could  go  but  a  short  distance,  as  there  were  no 
roads,  only  the  paths  of  the  wild  beasts  and  the  red  man,  and  the  lined 


HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK.  o 

trees  marked  by  the  hunter  and  woodman.  Another  reason  why  they 
could  not  go  far  from  the  borders  of  civilization  was,  that  they  must  be 
near  a  market.  The  first  few  settlers  of  many  of  the  towns  of  Vermont 
had  no  horses  at  first ;  they  came  into  the  State  on  foot.  They  knew, 
before  they  could  have  the  horse,  something  must  be  raised  and  provided 
for.  When  this  was  accomplished,  then  the  horse  was  procured.  The 
horse  then  wanted  was  the  one  the  easiest  to  ride,  as  there  were  no  wagons 
and  but  few  roads ;  the  one  that  was  the  surest-footed,  that  was  the  safest 
to  get  over  the  rough,  bad  routes  they  had.  The  people  were  poor,  and 
could  not  at  first  enjoy  the  luxury  of  the  saddle,  so  the  horse  wanted 
must  have  a  good  wide  back ;  no  rail-backed  horse  was  warrted.  In  the 
winter  the  good  roads  on  the  snow  and  the  cold  weather  made  it  more 
pleasant  to  ride  behind  the  horse  on  the  sled  than  on  his  back.  After 
a  while  the  rich  substituted  the  pung  for  the  sled :  this  was  considered 
a  little  aristocratic.  Woolen  blankets  were  used  instead  of  "buffalo 
robes."  Now  the  sled  and  pung  have  given  way  to  the  sleigh,  and  it 
is  hard  to  say  what  the  sleigh  will  give  way  to. 

Though  the  horses  of  the  eastern  and  western  part  of  the  State  had 
a  common  origin,  their  type  and  characteristics  did  not  continue  the 
same.  The  western  part  of  the  State  borders  on  New  York,  and  this 
caused  many  of  the  inhabitants  to  do  their  marketing  at  Troy  and  Al- 
bany. Horses  were  taken  to  New  York,  and  furthermore  horses  were 
brought  from  New  York  to  the  western  part  of  Vermont,  and  it  caused 
the  horses  of  the  two  sections  to  be  somewhat  alike. 

The  first  important  cross  upon  the  horses  of  the  western  part  of  the 
State  was  from  a  son  of  imported  Messenger,  called  Bishop  Hamble- 
tonian.  He  was  foaled  on  Long  Island  in  1806  ;  he  was  a  bay,  fifteen 
and  a  half  hands  high,  and  weighed  about  eleven  hundred  pounds ;  had 
quite  a  reputation  as  a  racer.  He  was  taken  to  Granville,  N.  Y.,  in  1822, 
and  there  kept,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  seasons,  until  his  death, 
which  was  in  1834.  Some  of  the  seasons  he  was  kept  part  of  the  time 
at  Pawlet,  Wells,  Poultney,  and  Burlington,  Vt.  The  Hambletonian 
blood  was  largely  bred  and  highly  prized.  It  gave  size  and  speed,  but 
with  this  there  was  often  a  coarseness  and  a  lack  of  style  and  beauty. 
The  cross  is  highly  valued  in  the  pedigree  of  the  trotters.  But  few 
Hambletonian  horses  were  taken  across  the  mountain  to  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State,  so  that,  comparatively  speaking,  the  blood  was  not  bred 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain  ;  yet,  wherever  it  was,  it  did  leave 
quite  an  impression  in  transmitting  speed.  The  Morgan  blood  was  the 
first  cross  upon  the  horses  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  so  popu- 
lar was  it  that  at  one  time  nearly  all  the  horses  of  the  eastern  part  could 
be  called  Morgans.  Their  popularity  commenced  about  1820,  and  it 
continued  until  1860 ;  then  the  dema.nd  was  for  horses  having  more  size 


4  HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK. 

and  speed.  Had  the  Morgan  horses  been  bred  to  average  in  weight 
ten  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  fifteen  and  a  half  hands  in  height, 
the  demand  for  them  must  have  always  been  great.  It  was  their  small 
size  that  cost  them  their  popularity  (there  were  too  many  small  ones). 
They  were  not  bred  at  first  to  any  extent  upon  the  west  side  of  the 
mountain.  The  Morrills  seemed  to  be  what  the  market  demanded,  and 
they  have  been  largely  crossed  upon  the  Morgans.  The  Morrills,  prop- 
erly speaking,  are  a  branch  of  the  Morgans,  as  their  founder,  Old  Mor- 
rill, traces  on  his  sire's  side  to  Bulrush  Morgan.  Yet  the  characteristics 
of  the  two  classes  of  horses  ai'e  very  different  every  way.  The  Morrills 
are  more  rangy,  larger  made,  and  have  more  speed  than  the  true  Mor- 
gan ;  their  manes  and  tails  are  not  as  full ;  nor  do  they  have  the  style, 
spirit,  and  endurance  of  the  Morgans  proper.  Their  founder.  Old  Mor- 
rill, was  bred  in  Walden,  Vt.,  foaled  in  1843,  was  a  black,  sixteen  hands 
high,  and  weighed  at  times  thirteen  hundred  pounds.  He  was  kept  the 
most  of  the  time  at  Danville,  Vt.,  and  died  there  in  1862.  The  first 
cross  upon  the  Hambletonians  was  the  Black  Hawk  cross.  Old  Black 
Hawk,  the  founder  of  the  family  that  takes  his  name,  was  bred  and 
raised  in  Durham,  N.  H. ;  was  foaled  in  1833  ;  was  taken  to  Lowell, 
Mass.,  when  five  years  old,  where  he  was  owned  by  Benjamin  Thurston 
until  1844,  when  he  was  purchased  by  David  Hill,  of  Bridport,  Vt,, 
who  took  him  to  Bridport  and  there  kept  him  until  his  death,  which 
was  in  December,  1856.  His  being  owned  so  long  in  Vermont  gave 
him  his  name,  Vermont  Black  Hawk.  He  was  called,  when  Hill  owned 
him.  Old  Black  Hawk,  Hill's  Black  Hawk,  and  Morgan  Black  Hawk. 
Black  Hawk  was  a  jet  black,  not  quite  fifteen  hands  high,  and  weighed 
about  nine  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  He  was  a  very  smooth,  fine-made, 
handsome  horse ;  was  stylish  and  fine  driving,  and  was  considered  fast 
in  his  day.  He  was  largely  patronized  at  Bridport,  and  had  the  greatest 
reputation  of  any  horse  of  his  day.  He  was  a  remarkable  preponent 
sire,  and  stamped  his  characteristics  in  a  marked  degree  on  his  progeny. 
The  Black  Hawk  cross  gave  beauty  and  style,  with  speed  ;  many  of  his 
sons  were  from  fifteen  and  a  half  to  sixteen  hands  high,  and  weighed 
from  eleven  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  pounds.  The  Black  Hawks  were 
not  bred  to  any  extent  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain;  one  of  the 
sons.  Captain  Lightfoot,  was  kept  at  Bethel  in  1854,  and  sired  that  sea- 
son the  dam  of  Draco  Prince  ;  blk.  h.  rec.  2.24J.  Rattler  (Bigart's)  left 
some  stock  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  "Was  foaled  at  Danlw, 
Vt.,  in  1844 ;  was  a  bay,  fifteen  and  three-quarter  hands  high,  and 
weighed  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  He  won  the  stallion  race 
on  Long  Island  in  1850,  in  straight  heats,  best  time  2.46.  He  resem- 
bled the  Hambletonians,  as  he  had  one  or  more  crosses  of  Hambletonian 
and  Messenger  blood,  though  his  sire  was  Sir  Henry,  grandson  of  the 
Garret  horse,  and  he  by  Leonidas. 


HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK.  5 

The  Columbus  blood  had  something  of  a  run  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountain.  Old  Columbus,  the  founder  of  the  family,  was  a  French 
horse  taken  from  Canada  to  Bakersfield,  Vt.,  about  1842 ;  from  there  he 
was  taken  to  Massachusetts,  and  in  1854  to  Orwell,  Vt.  He  was  a 
chestnut  with  white  feet  and  a  white  face,  fifteen  hands  high,  and 
weighed  one  thousand  pounds  ;  was  a  converted  pacer  and  was  fast. 
His  blood  has  given  speed,  but  not  beauty  or  style.  The  Columbuses 
are  not  free,  good  drivers  or  roadsters. 

The  next  cross  was  the  Ethau  Allen.  He  was  kept  several  years  at 
Shoreham,  Vt.,  as  was  his  great-son  Daniel  Lambert.  The  Ethan  Allen 
and  Daniel  Lambert  blood  has  been  and  is  very  popular.  It  has  given 
beauty,  style,  and  finish,  with  great  speed.  They  are  free,  pleasant, 
fine  roadsters  and  drivers ;  yet  there  is  too  often  a  lacking  of  size  among 
the  Ethan  Aliens  and  Lamberts,  which  should  be  rectified  by  a  cross  of 
some  larger  strain  of  trotting  blood.  A  number  of  sons  and  grandsons 
of  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian  have  been  brought  into  the  State,  both  in 
the  eastern  and  western  part,  and  have  been  quite  largely  bred  from ; 
some  were  used  as  early  as  1870.  It  is  hard  to  say  now  what  the  re- 
sult of  the  cross  will  be.  In  some  instances  expectations  have  not  been 
realized. 

The  Clay  blood  has  not  been  bred  to  any  extent  in  Vermont.  Bal- 
lard's Cassius  M.  Clay  54  is  the  only  one  of  note  that  has  been  used. 
He  was  foaled  in  1854,  at  Contoocookville,  Hopkinton,  N.  H. ;  sire, 
Jones's  1st  Cassius  M.  Clay,  by  old  Cassius  M.  Clay  18;  dam  by  a 
pacing  horse  that  came  from  Maine.  "Was  bred  and  was  owned  at  one 
time  by  President  Pierce.  One  account  is  that  he  was  bred  by  Judge 
Perkins.  Was  purchased  in  1859  by  Jones  &  Ballard,  and  taken  to 
Hartford,  Vt.,  where  he  was  kept  until  his  death,  which  was  in  1878. 
He  was  a  dark  mahogany  bay  with  star,  fifteen  and  three-quarter  hands 
high,  and  weighed  over  eleven  hundred  pounds ;  rec.  2.37.  He  was 
largely  used,  and  proved  a  valuable  cross  for  the  Morgan  and  Morrill 
mares.  Four  of  his  get  are  in  the  2.30  list,  and  quite  a  number  have 
trotted  in  2.40,  or  better.  The  mares  by  him  have  proved  very  pre- 
potent in  transmitting  speed.  Lady  Barefoot,  rec.  2.26J,  dam,  was  by 
him,  and  the  dams  of  several  of  the  fast  ones.  ' 

Thus  briefly  have  been  stated  the  facts,  from  the  beginning  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  as  to  the  horses  of  Vermont,  and  they  can  apply  in  a  general 
sense  to  the  horses  of  the  different  towns  of  the  State. 

This  fact  can  be  understood,  that  many  of  the  noted  horses  have  been 
kept  in  a  certain  section,  so  that  their  progeny  for  a  time  is  the  most 
numerous  in  the  section  where  they  have  been  kept ;  for  instance,  the 
Justin  Morgan  was  kept  several  years  at  Randolph,  Harris  Hamble- 
tonian at  Bristol,  Old  Morrill  at  Danville,  Black  Hawk  at  Bridport, 


6  HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK. 

Ethan  Allen  and  Lambert  at  Shoreham,  Ballard's  Cassius  M.  Clay  at 
Hartford,  and  Woodstock  at  Woodstock. 

The  inference  is  plain,  that  the  stock  of  the  horses  named  was,  at 
first,  the  most  numerous  in  the  towns  where  they  were  kept ;  yet  it  does 
not  always  remain  so,  as  more  or  less  of  it  is  sold  and  taken  away,  and, 
too,  it  is  allowed  to  die  out. 

Much  interest  is  felt  at  the  present  time  in  regard  to  the  horse  Old 
Papineau,  which  was  brought  from  Canada  to  Vermont  about  the  year 
1833,  kept  at  Danville  and  Groton  till  about  1838,  and  then  taken  to 
New  Hampshire.  This  renewed  interest  in  Old  Papineau  has  been 
called  out  from  the  fact,  learned  the  present  year  (1887),  that  Taggart's 
Abdallah  16  traces  to  him  on  his  sire's  side.  Farmer's  Beauty,  the  sire 
of  Abdallah  16,  was  purchased  by  David  M.  Taggart,  of  Goffstown,  N. 
H.,  at  Wells  River,  Vt.,  in  1845.  Taggart  states  that  at  the  time  of  the 
purchase  he  was  told  the  horse  was  bred  and  raised  at  Wells  River 
by  Dr.  Thatcher  from  the  doctor's  celebrated  mare,  afterwards  sold  in 
Boston.  It  has  been  ascertained,  however,  that  Farmer's  Beauty  was 
raised  at  Groton,  Vt.,  by  Dr.  Horatio  W.  Heath,  and  was  foaled  in  1839 
or  1840.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Heath,  the  horse,  then  called  simply 
Beauty,  was  sold  to  Alden  G.  Heath,  of  Topsham,  Vt.,  who  sold  him  in 
1845  to  E.Baldwin,  of  Wells  River.  Very  soon  after  the  purchase, 
Baldwin  disposed  of  him  to  D.  M.  Taggart.  Farmer's  Beauty,  as  Mr. 
Taggart  called  him,  was  sired  by  J.  J.  Peck's  Young  Papineau ;  dam. 
Dr.  Heath's  mare,  —  a  large  bay  mare  of  great  endurance  as  a  roadster; 
breeding  unknown,  though  called  a  Morgan  mare.  Young  Papineau 
was  the  son  of  Old  Papineau  ;  dam,  a  chestnut  by  Young  Bulrush  or 
One  Eye. 

Very  little  is  known  as  to  the  first  horses  that  were  taken  to  Wood- 
stock. It  is  remembered  that,  when  Ephraim  Brewster  moved  into 
town,  he  drove  a  yoke  of  cattle,  and  his  wife  rode  a  horse,  with  one  child 
before  and  one  behind.  No  description  of  the  horse  is  given.  It  is 
known,  too,  that  Dr.  Stephen  Powers,  in  1774,  rode  a  horse  to  Middle- 
borough,  Mass.,  and  it  is  stated  he  assisted  in  caring  for  the  wounded 
after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

As  the  first  settlers  came  mostly  from  Middleborough  and  Salem, 
Mass.,  and  Lyme,  Conn,,  it  is  understood  that  the  first  horses  of  Wood- 
stock came  from  those  places.  Lyme  lies  on  the  Connecticut  and  joins 
New  London,  where  a  large  number  of  the  blood-horses  that  have  been 
brought  to  this  country  were  imported.  It  has  been  stated  Ranger,  or 
Lindsley  Arabian,  was  imported  there.  It  is  safe  to  infer  that  some  of 
the  thoroughbred  horses  that  were  taken  to  New  London  were  kept  at 
Lyme,  and  that  the  horses  that  were  taken  from  Lyme  to  Woodstock 
were  some  of  their  descendants. 


"V. 


WOODSTOCK,   873. 

Blk.  h.,  bred  by  Mr.  Rider,  Topsham,  Vt.     Foaled  1S57;  sire,  Young  Morrill,  iiS;  dam, a  graymare. 
Quicksilver  blood.     Record  2.40.     Died  August,  1877. 


HORSES   OF   WOODSTOCK.  7 

From  1725  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  there  was  much 
more  racing  done  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island  than 
has  been  recorded.  The  feelings  of  our  strict  Puritan  fathers  were 
against  it,  which  is  why  so  little  has  been  said  or  is  known  in  regard  to 
the  practice.  Yet  their  own  sons  very  often  indulged  in  the  pleasures 
of  the  race,  as  is  ascertained  from  some  old  letters  and  notes  written  at 
the  time,  which  have  come  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  pleasures  and  amusements  of  a  people  have  to  be  given  up  in 
war,  and  it  was  so  during  the  Revolution.  The  war  absorbed  the  whole 
thoughts  and  energies  of  the  people.  "When  it  was  over  and  things  re- 
sumed their  usual  course,  then  the  pleasures  that  had  been  laid  aside 
were  in  part  indulged  in  again.  It  is  understood  that  some  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Vermont,  before  removing  to  the  State,  had  something  to  do 
with  the  race,  and  that,  when  circumstances  favored,  the  old  pastime 
was  revived.  The  exact  year  they  commenced  racing  horses  at  Wood- 
stock is  not  stated ;  but  as  it  was  a  central  place  for  the  people  of  the 
adjoining  towns  to  come  to  before  it  became  the  county  seat  in  1787,  it 
is  safe  to  say  racing  was  taken  up  soon  after  peace  was  declared.  The 
reason  why  there  was  more  of  this  sport  going  on  at  Woodstock  than  at 
many  of  the  other  towns  was,  that  it  was  something  of  a  hub  or  center 
for  the  people  to  come  to.  The  street  now  called  River  Street  was  the 
race-course.  The  horses  were  started  near  Mr.  Myers's  house,  and  ran  up 
the  river  as  far  as  the  schoolhouse.  The  length  of  the  race-course  was 
about  equal  to  the  distance  by  the  road  between  the  two  lower  bridges. 
Eighty  rods  was  the  distance  most  generally  run  then  in  Vermont^ 
The  races  were  mostly  scrub  races,  and  the  stakes  the  drinks  for  the 
crowd,  which  was  not  large.  No  time  was  taken,  so  it  is  not  known  how 
fast  they  ran.  But  two  horses  were  started,  and  there  was  more  or  less 
of  it  done  as  late  as  1835.  The  following  are  the  facts  as  to  one  of  the 
races.  One  who  will  be  called  Mr.  A  was  so  confident  that  his  horse 
was  the  fastest  that  he  offered  to  bet  one  dollar  and  a  gallon  of  rum  that 
his  horse  would  beat  the  crowd.  The  offer  was  taken,  and  Mr.  A's 
horse  was  beaten.  It  is  supposed  that  most  of  the  races  run  were  very 
similar  to  the  one  described.  Some  may  ask,  What  benefit  was  the 
racing  ?  The  benefit  was  that  it  improved  the  speed,  the  endurance, 
and  quality  of  the  horses.  It  brought  in  a  better  class  of  horses,  higher 
and  better  bred.  Every  one  could  see  what  horses  had  the  most  speed 
and  bottom,  and  these  were  the  ones  which  must  have  been  mostly  bred 
from,  as  it  is  plain  to  every  one  that,  to  improve  a  race  of  domestic  ani- 
mals, the  best  must  be  bred  from.  The  old  files  of  Spooner's  "  Vermont" 
Journal "  show  a  large  number  of  horses  advertised  to  stand  at  Wood- 
stock. Every  one  can  see  how  valuable  the  advertisements  are  now,  and 
how  much  more  they  would  be  if  among  the  number  there  could  be  found 


8  HORSES   OF   WOODSTOCK. 

y 

one  of  a  horse  that  was  kept  at  Woodstock  from  1798  to  1800,  —  a  horse 
that  proved  the  most  remarkable  and  famous  ever  owned  in  Vermont. 
If  the  facts  known  about  him  then  could  have  been  put  into  an  adver- 
tisement, it  would  have  saved  much  trouble  and  discussion  as  to  his  ori- 
"gih  and  blood.  The  horse  meant  was  "  the  Just^  Morgan,"  the  original 
Morgan  horse,  the  founder  of  the  race  of  horses  called  Morgans.  All 
agree  that  he  was  owned  by  William  Rice,  of  Woodstock,  during  the 
time  named.  F.  A.  Wier,  of  Walpole,  N.  H.,  who  spent  much  time  in 
looking  up  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  Morgan  horses,  states,  in  a  letter 
that  was  published  in  the  January  number  of  the  "Albany  Cultivator" 
for  1846,  that  Justin  Morgan  was  on  a  visit  to  William  Rice's,  having 
his  horse  with  him ;  that  he  was  taken  sick,  and  died  there  ;  that  shortly 
before  his  death  the  horse  was  made  over  to  Mr.  Rice  as  security  for  the 
expense  of  Mr.  Morgan's  sickness.  The  records  of  the  probate  office 
at  Randolph  rather  show  this,  as  they  show  that  there  was  no  horse  ap- 
praised with  Mr.  Morgan's  property.  There  was  a  saddle,  bridle,  and 
whip.  It  shows  strongly  that  the  horse  had  passed  out  of  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Morgan  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Morgan  advertised  the  Figure  Horse,  the  seasons  of  1793  and  1794, 
to  stand  at  Randolph,  Lebanon,  and  Royalton.  The  age,  color,  or  size 
of  the  horse  is  not  given  in  the  advertisements,  but  they  state  that  he  is 
from  near  Hartford,  Conn.  These  advertisements  were  not  discovered 
until  1878.  It  is  claimed  now  by  some  that  the  Figure  Horse  was  "  the 
Justin  Morgan,"  from  the  fact  that  recent  investigations  show  that  "  the 
Justin  Morgan"  was  taken  to  Randolph  in  1791,  instead  of  1795  as  first 
stated.  The  year  1795  was  given  from  the  memory,  the  recollections  of 
several,  some  fifty  years  after  the  event  took  place ;  though  some  said 
that  it  was  earlier  than  1795.  It  is  nothing  strange  a  mistake  was  made 
in  the  year,  under  the  circumstances,  as  they  had  no  dates  to  refer  to. 
Mr.  Morgan  broke  up  keeping  house  in  1793,  and  had  no  grand  list  at 
Randolph  after  1794.  It  was  understood  he  had  the  horse  when  he  was 
keeping  house.  <  John  Morgan  stated  that  he  was  living  at  West  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  when  Justin  Morgan  got  the  two-year-old  colt ;  that  he  was 
sired  by  a  horse  called  True  Briton  ;  that  he,  John  Morgan,  kept  two 
seasons,  and  that  he  kept  True  Briton  the  season  that  he  sired  Mr.  Justin 
Morgan's  colt.  John  Morgan's  advertisements  for  True  Briton  have 
been  recently  found,  and  they  show  he   kept  the  horse  the  seasons  of 

1788  and  1789,  and  it  was  understood  the  colt  was  sired  the  first  season. 
This  shows  that  "the  Justin  Morgan,"  instead  of  being  foaled  in  1793 
and  taken  to  Randolph  in  1795,  as  was  first  stated,  was  in  fact  foaled  in 

1789  and  taken  to  Randolph  in  1791. 

Another  mistake  was  made  as  to  Mr.  Morgan's  horses.  When  he 
took  the  colt  to  Vermont,  he  took  another  one  too,  that  was  called,  fifty 


HORSES    OF    WOODSTOCK.  9 

years  after,  a  three-year-old  gelding  colt.  Recent  investigations  show- 
that  the  three-year-old  gelding  was  a  four-year-old  bay  colt,  or  stallion, 
and  was  the  horse  that  he  advertised  as  the  Figure  Horse.  Mr.  Mor- 
gan's two  brothers,  Caleb  and  Stephen,  and  his  sister  Eunice,  lived  at 
Randolph  when  he  did.  His  sister  was  a  widow.  Her  name  was  Wil- 
liams, and  she  had  a  son  and  daughter.  When  Mr.  Morgan  was  on  his 
way  home  with  the  colts  from  Springfield,  he  stopped  all  night  with  his 
sister,  who  lived  about  a  mile  from  the  center  of  Randolph,  towards  the 
East  Branch.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Morgan  went  over  to  Mr.  Moul- 
ton's,  his  sister's  near  neighbor,  and  had  him  and  his  son  Jude  Moulton 
come  over  and  see  the  colts.  They  were  shown  a  four-year-old  bay 
stallion.  They  did  not  notice  the  little  one  until  Mr.  Morgan  called  1 
their  attention  to  him.  They  then  saw  what  they  called  a  little  runt  of  U 
a  colt  that  did  not  look  to  be  worth  ten  dollars,  and  so  told  him.  Mr. 
Morgan  tapped  the  colt  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  "  A  good  deal  there, 
sir ;  a  good  deal  there,  sir."  This  incident  has  been  handed  down  in 
I  Mr.  Moulton's  family,  as  Jude  Moulton  married  Mrs.  Williams's  daugh- 
'  ter,  and  his  sons  and  grandsons  and  others  have  often  heard  him  re- 
late it. 

There  is  some  interest  felt  in  Mr.  Morgan's  four-year-old  bay  stallion, 
the  Figure  Horse,  as  it  is  understood  that  Mr.  Rice  took  him  to  Wood- 
stock. This  appears  from  a  statement  given  of  a  horse  in  D.  P.  Thomp- 
son's "  History  of  the  Town  of  Montpelier."  He  says  (p.  91)  :  "Jona- 
than Shepard  built  the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  Montpelier  village.  Some 
years  after,  he  sold  out  his  shop  and  custom  to  James  Hawkins,  taking 
Mr.  Hawkins's  farm,  and  letting  Hawkins  have,  too,  the  first  Morgan  horse 
ever  known  in  Vermont  or  elsewhere."  In  a  note  at  the  bottom  of  the 
page  he  states:  "Mr.  Shepard  is  still  living  [this  was  in  1860],  and  his 
'  statement  is  that  he  purchased  the  horse  of  a  man  in  Woodstock  for 
about  two  hundred  dollars,  a  very  large  price  at  that  time.  The  man  in 
Woodstock  had  the  horse  of  one  Justin  Morgan,  a  man  of  that  section, 
who  reared  him  from  a  colt.  Mr.  Shepard  states  from  his  own  knowl- 
edge that  Justin  Morgan  owned  the  mare  that  brought  the  colt ;  that  she 
was  a  great  traveler ;  that  he  [Morgan]  had  driven  her  to  Canada, 
where  he  had  relatives,  in  a  day,  the  distance  being  seventy  miles  ;  that 
it  was  on  one  of  these  visits  that  the  colt  was  sired  by  a  common  Cana- 
dian stallion  ;  and  that  it  was  from  this  colt  growing  up  and  being  kept 
at  Randolph  and  other  places,  that  the  whole  race  of  the  noted  Vermont 
Morgan  horses  originated." 

The  town  records  of  Montpelier  show  that  Mr.  Shepard's  deed  of  Mr. 
j  Hawkins's  farm  was  dated  February  14,  1797.  This  shows  that  the 
I  horse  was  not  "  the  Justin  Morgan,"  as  Mr.  Morgan  had  the  horse  at 
j  that  time.     Mr.  Shepard's  son,  George  C,  now  of  Montpelier,  says  h^ 


10  HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK. 

has  often  heard  his  father  speak  of  getting  the  horse  of  a  man  in  Wood- 
stock, but  cannot  now  remember  the  name  of  the  man  his  father  said  he 
had  the  horse  of.  Being  asked  if  the  name  Rice  sounded  like  the  name 
his  father  gave,  he  said  it  did.  He  said  he  did  not  think  his  father  kept 
the  horse  more  than  a  year.  It  is  supposed  "  the  Justin  Morgan  "  sired 
stock  when  owned  by  Mr.  Rice.  It  is  stated  he  ran  one  race  on  the 
race-course  when  in  Mr.  Rice's  hands,  and  won. 

The  horse  was  taken  through  Woodstock  by  his  owner,  Mr.  Goss,  of 
Randolph,  the  season  of  1807,  when  he  made  a  short  season  at  Clare- 
mont,  N.  H.     The  horse  was  kept  at  Woodstock  part  of  the  season  of 
J.813,  at  Mr.  Taylor's  hotel. 


The  Blazing  Star  blood  had  something  of  a  run,  and  there  are  horses 
now  in  Woodstock  that  have  a  cross  of  the  blood  in  their  pedigree. 
Blazing  Star  was  bred  and  raised  by  William  Bridge,  of  South  Wood- 
stock ;  foaled,  1813.  His  sire  was  a  large  bay  horse,  said  to  be  of  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch  blood,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  horse  advertised  as  Slow 
and  Easy  in  the  "  Woodstock  Observer,"  the  seasons  of  1822  and  1823, 
by  Simon  Smith  of  Hartland.  The  advertisement  states  the  horse  drew 
the  premium  at  the  Windsor  County  Fair  in  1822 ;  that  his  sire  was 
the  noted  horse  Traveller,  owned  by  Charles  West,  of  Providence, 
R.  I. ;  grandsire,  imported  Old  Traveller ;  Slow  and  Easy's  dam,  a  bay, 
full-blood  Dutch  mare,  known  by  the  name  of  Slow  and  Easy,  bred  by 
Judge  Vanderloop  of  New  York,  and  purchased  of  him  by  Charles 
West  for  three  hundred  dollars. 

Blazing  Star's  dam  was  a  very  fine  black  English  mare  that  was 
often  ridden  on  the  parade.  Her  son  took  her  color,  had  a  white  stripe  in 
the  face  that  gave  him  his  name,  was  about  15;^  hands  high,  and  weighed 
a  little  over  one  thousand  pounds.  Was  a  very  muscular,  fine-acting 
horse,  resembling  in  his  style  and  actions  the  Morgans,  as  did  his  stock. 
Mr.  Bridge  sold  him  when  three  years  old,  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  His  new  owners,  thinking  to  improve  the  looks  of  the  horse, 
had  his  large  handsome  tail  cut  off.  When  the  horse  got  up  with  it  off, 
and  it  was  seen  how  it  hurt  his  looks,  his  owner  said  he  would  give  fifty 
dollars  to  have  it  back.  The  horse  was  often  ridden  at  musters  and 
trainings,  was  taken  to  Canada,  and  back.  One  of  his  sons  was  kept 
for  stock,  owned  by  Sullivan  Cady,  —  a  brown,  and  not  as  large  as 
his  sire.  Some  claim  that  the  dam  of  Dorsey,  Green  Mountain  Black 
Hawk,  was  Blazing  Star  blood.  She  was  owned  by  Mr,  Fletcher,  South 
Woodstock. 

It  was  about  1814  that  the  horse  Tally-ho  was  taken  to  Woodstock, 
from  Connecticut,  by  a  Mr.  Dyer.  The  horse  was  an  imported  Norfolk 
trotter,  and  must  be  the  one  recorded  in  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Trot- 
ting Register."     It  states:  "Tally-ho  was  foaled  in  1791  by  Sportsman ; 


HORSES    OF   WOODSTOCK.  11 

dam  by  Papist.  Imported  in  1793  ;  stood  in  several  of  the  Hudson 
River  counties."  Jacob  Boyce,  of  Woodstock,  traded  for  the  horse,  but 
he  soon  became  afraid  of  him,  and  traded  him  to  William  Hutchinson,  of 
Pomfret.  Tally-ho  vfas  a  handsome  mahogany  bay,  with  black  points  ; 
off  hind-foot  partly  white  ;  mane  and  tail  full ;  fifteen  hands  high,  and 
weighed  one  thousand  pounds.  Was  a  high-headed,  handsome,  well- 
made  horse,  with  great  muscular  power  and  fine  trotting  action,  and  had 
speed,  which  his  stock  inherited.  Tally-ho  was  owned  by  Mr.  Hutchin- 
son as  long  as  he  lived;  died  in  1820  or  1822  ;  was  largely  patronized. 
His  colts  were  all  bays  and  natural  trotters,  and  many  were  fast.  A 
number  of  his  sons  were  kept  for  stock ;  one  called  Young  Tally-ho. 
He  was  larger  than  his  sire,  and  had  great  speed.  His  dam  was  ridden 
by  Colonel  Dana  in  the  war  of  1812. 

It  was  a  mistake  letting  the  Tally-ho  blood  die  out  in  the  male  line, 
as  it  was  trotting  blood.  Imported  Bellfounder  was  a  Norfolk  trotter. 
The  great  popularity  of  the  Morgan  blood  was  the  cause,  as  all  other 
classes  of  horses  had  to  give  way  for  a  while  to  the  Morgans.  The 
Walker  horse,  or  Morgan  Tally-ho,  was  one  of  the  best  stock  horses 
ever  owned  in  the  State.  His  dam  was  by  Tally-ho,  as  was  also  the  dam 
of  the  fast-trotting  gelding  raised  by  Isaiah  Lee  of  Hartland,  Vt.  He 
was  the  fastest  trotter  in  the  county.  He  was  taken  to  New  York,  and 
made  a  very  fast  trotter.  Was  sold  for  two  thousand  dollars.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  old  trotter  Ripton,  that  was  the  champion  of  the  trotting- 
course  in  1842,  was  the  Isaiah  Lee  horse.  The  Walker  horse  sired 
many  fast  ones.  When  the  mare  that  was  bred  to  him  had  speed  or  was 
of  trotting  blood,  the  produce  was  sure  to  have  speed. 

Several  of  the  most  noted  of  the  Morgan  horses  have  been  kept  at 

Woodstock.  First,  as  has  been  stated,  "  the  Justin  Morgan  ;  "  next,  his 
most  popular  son,  Woodbury,  made  several  seasons  at  Woodstock,  the 
last  one  in  1830,  when  the  price  was  ten  dollars  the  season.  Woodbury's 
best  son,  Old  Gifford,  made  several  seasons  at  Woodstock,  as  did  his 
famous  son  Old  Green  Mountain.  His  last  seasons  were  in  1850,  1851, 
and  1862,  when  the  price  was  twenty-five  dollars  to  warrant.  The 
horses  named  were  great  parade  horses,  and  were  often  ridden  at  the 
musters  held  on  Mower's  meadow.  Major  Charles  Dana,  Jr.,  rode  Old 
Gifford  at  one  of  them. 

At  one  of  the  musters  when  Woodbury  was  ridden,  the  big  Jersey  colt 
and  one  of  his  sons  were,  too.  The  two  last  rather  took  the  attention  at 
first,  on  account  of  their  black  color  and  great  size,  they  standing  sixteen 
hands  high,  and  weighing  fourteen  hundi-ed  pounds ;  but  before  night  it 
was  seen  Old  Woodbury  outlasted  them  in  style,  spirit,  and  action.  The 
fact  that  the  Morgan  horses  named  made  several  seasons  at  Woodstock, 
and  that  their  sons  and  daughters  were  largely  bred  from,  shows  that  the 


V 


12 


HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK. 


horses  of  Woodstock  were  once  very  strong  of  the  Morgan  blood.  Some 
could  have  been  called  inbred  Morgans,  as  they  inherited  several  crosses 
of  the  blood,  and  this  may  be  the  cause  why  Woodstock  has  not  the 
'  credit  of  raising  one  of  the  2.30  horses.  The  true  Morgan  horse  is  one 
of  great  spirit,  life,  and  endurance ;  a  great  roadster,  and  all-day  horse ; 
but  his  form  and  shape  are  such  that  he  cannot  go  fast  for  a  mile,  and, 
with  his  lack  of  size,  has  caused  his  popularity  to  set.  The  demand  has 
been,  since  1860,  for  larger,  more  rangy  horses,  with  more  speed ;  and 
now,  where  once  they  nearly  all  were  Morgan  sires,  there  are  but  few 
that  trace  to  Woodbury. 

The  best  one  of  the  Walker  horse's  sons  was  the  Ransom  horse,  and 
he  was  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best  one,  ever  raised  in  Woodstock. 
He  was  bred  by  Elder  Jacob  Holt ;  foaled  about  1839.  His  dam  was  a 
Hambletonian  mare  brought  from  Washington  County,  New  York,  about 
1835,  when  two  years  old,  by  Marshall  My  rick.  She  was  a  large,  rangy, 
brown  mare,  a  fast  trotter,  and  went  in  fine  style.  Her  son  rather  in- 
herited her  color,  form,  style,  and  travel.  He  was  sixteen  hands  high, 
and  weighed  eleven  hundred  pounds.  Daniel  Ransom  bought  the  horse 
when  six  years  old,  but  his  value  was  not  realized  or  appreciated  ;  for 
about  1849  he  was  sold  for  a  song  to  Dr.  Bissell,  a  peddler  of  medicine, 
and  his  great  worth  lost  to  the  horse-breeders  of  Woodstock.  His  value 
has  been  since  discovered  by  the  prices  his  colts  have  brought  on  account 
of  their  speed,  and  the  value  of  his  daughters  as  brood  mares.  This  could 
have  been  known  at  first,  as  he  inherited  two  crosses  of  trotting  blood, 
the  Tally-ho  and  the  Hambletonian.  His  sire,  the  Walker  horse,  was  by 
the  Moulton  horse,  a  son  of  Bulrush.  When  a  horse  inherits  two  or 
more  crosses  of  trotting-blood,  he  is  sure  to  transmit  speed.  The  Jerome 
Cox  horse  was  by  the  Ransom  horse ;  dam,  Blazing  Star  blood ;  foaled, 
1849  ;  resembled  his  sire ;  not  quite  as  large ;  left  excellent  stock,  but 
was  not  any  more  appreciated  than  was  his  sire. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1855  that  George  Harpin  took  to  Woodstock  a 
horse  that  he  called  the  French  Prendergast ;  called  also  the  Harpin 
horse,  or  Young  St.  Lawrence.  Mr.  Harpin  purchased  the  horse  in  Can- 
ada; foaled  about  1850;  sired  by  the  Old  St.  Lawrence;  dam  called 
Morgan  blood.  The  horse  was  a  sorrel,  fifteen  and  three  fourths  hands 
high,  and  weighed  over  eleven  hundred  pounds  ;  was  a  good  traveler, 
and  could  trot  close  to  2.50.  He  was  kept  at  Woodstock  and  vicinity 
until  1860 ;  was  then  taken  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  his  sire  had  stood 
at  two  hundred  dollars  the  season.  Draco  stood  near  him  the  season  of 
1861,  but  the  Harpin  horse  drew  the  most  patronage.  He  left  excellent 
stock  at  Woodstock.  Some  trotted  better  than  three  minutes,  were  sold 
for  a  large  price  and  taken  away,  and  nothing  more  was  known  of  them. 
He  sired  the  dam  of  Susie  Taylor,  one  of  the  most  promising  trotters 


HORSES   OF   AVOODSTOCK. 


10 
o 


ever  raised  in  "Woodstock.     She  was  by  the  Pinney  horse,  a  son  of  Old 
Green  Mountain.     The  Pinney  horse  left  excellent  stock. 

About  the  year  1860  the  family  of  horses  called  Morrllls  began  tcT 
attract  attention.     Their  large  size  and  fast  way  of  going  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  they  were  the  horses  the  market  demanded.     Though  they; 
trace  back  on  the  sire  side  to  "  the  Justin  Morgan,"  and  are  classed  as 
Morgans,  they  have  inherited  so  many  out  crosses  that  they  are  a  very : 
different  type  of  horses,  not  having  the  form,  style,  spirit,  and  action  of , 
the  true  Morgans.     It  is  mostly  through  Young  Morrill  that  the  Merrills  { 
have  obtained  the  reputation  in  which  they  are  held.     He  was  a  remark- ' 
ably  fine  horse,  and  he  transmitted  his  good  qualities  to  his  stock.    Draco, 
his  best  son,  was  kept  at  Royalton  the  season  of  1859.    His  large  size  and 
fast  way  of  going  caused  something  of  a  feeling  for  the  Merrills.    One  of 
Draco's  sons  was  kept  several  seasons  at  Woodstock,  called  Young  Draco,  \ 
or  the  Henry  horse  ;  was  foaled  in  1859  ;  was  a  bay,  fifteen  and  one  half  ; 
hands  high,  and  weighed  ten  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.     Was  a  fine-  \ 
looking  and  acting  horse  ;  could  trot  close  to  2.40  ;  did  not  prove  a  very  j 
good  stock  horse  ;  was  burnt  in  the  fire  of  1867. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1864  Frederick  Billings  purchased  the  horse~ 
John  Morrill,  by  Young  Morrill.  The  horse  had  gained  quite  a  reputa- 
tion in  a  race  that  he  trotted  the  fall  before  with  Draco,  in  which  he  was 
a  close  second,  and  it  was  believed  that  he  would  make  the  fastest  horse. 
The  price  paid  was  four  thousand  four  hundred  dollars ;  but  it  took  two 
or  more  paper  dollars  then  to  bring  one  of  gold.  The  season  of  1864  he 
was  kept  at  Hartford,  Vt.,  at  thirty  dollars  to  warrant.  He  trotted  a 
few  races  the  season  of  1865.  He  won  his  record,  2.40,  this  year,  in  a 
race  that  he  won  at  Hartford,  Vt.  He  was  shown  at  the  Windsor 
County  Fair  this  year  held  at  Woodstock,  and  trotted  a  public  trial  in 
2.33  ;  the  first  half  in  1.14.  About  this  time  the  horse's  name  was 
changed  to  Woodstock.  He  trotted  a  few  races  the  season  of  1866 ; 
was  kept  at  Woodstock  the  season  of  1867  at  fifty  dollars  to  warrant, 
and  each  season  thereafter  until  his  death,  excepting  the  season  of  1869, 
when  he  was  kept  at  Stowe,  Vt.  The  horse  changed  owners  in  the 
spring  of  1873,  and  the  price  changed  to  twenty -five  dollars  to  warrant. 
He  died  in  August,  1878. 

Woodstock  was  a  noble-looking  horse.  A  coal-black,  without  a  white 
hair,  mane  short  and  tail  full,  nearly  fifteen  and  three  quarters  hands 
high,  and  weighed  over  eleven  hundred  pounds.  Was  better  made  for- 
ward than  most  of  the  Merrills.  A  good  head,  wide  between  the  eyes, 
neck  rather  short  and  heavy,  but  arching;  withers  prominent;  body 
round  and  rather  short ;  back  the  very  best ;  hips  long  and  smooth. 
One  would  not  expect  a  horse  that  was  so  heavy  made  forward,  with  his 
rather  short  body  and  blocky  build,  could  have  the  great  speed  that  he 


14  HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK. 

showed.  The  secret  of  his  speed  was  his  great  stride,  caused  by  the  great 
propelling  powers  of  his  hind  parts  ;  but  his  way  of  going  was  heavy 
and  tiresome,  and  no  horse  could  live  to  carry  it  in  a  race.  He  had  a 
mean,  cross,  treacherous  disposition,  which  he  inherited  from  the  side  of 
his  dam ;  and  when  he  broke  in  his  great  bursts  of  speed,  he  broke  to 
run  away,  and  it  took  a  man  then  to  stop  him.  Woodstock  did  not 
prove  as  good  a  trotter  or  a  stock  horse  as  was  expected.  As  a  class  of 
horses,  his  colts  did  not  prove  free,  pleasant  roadsters  and  drivers.  He 
transmitted  a  certain  amount  of  speed,  but  it  was  not  of  the  high  type 
and  quality  wanted.  He  has  one  in  the  2.30  list,  —  Royal  John,  gr.  g., 
rec.  2.26^,  with  twelve  heats  in  2.30  or  better.  His  next  fastest  one 
was  Fred  Billings,  b.  g.,  rec.  2.40,  though  he  showed  trials  in  2.32, 
and  a  half  in  1.14. 

Woodstock  blood,  through  his  sons  and  daughters,  has  been  largely 
bred  upon  the  horses  of  Woodstock  and  vicinity.     Quite  a  number  of 
I  his  sons  were  kept  for  the  stud.     The  following  are  some  of  the  most 
prominent  ones:  Robert  Bonner,  b.  h.,  foaled  1863,  rec.  2.40;  Killing- 
ton,  b.  h.,  foaled   1863,  rec.  2.42 ;  the  Gifford,  or  Wheat  horse,  b.  h., 
I  foaled   1863,  trotted  in    3.00;  Young  Woodstock,  blk.  h.,  foaled  1864, 
rec.  close  to  3.00 ;  Hermit,  br.  h.,  foaled   1865,  rec.  2.40 ;  Woodstock 
j  Prince,  blk.  h.,  foaled  1865,  rec.  close  to  2.40  ;  the  Sherwin  horse,  blk. 
h.,   foaled   1865 ;  the  O.  E.  Taylor  horse,  ch.  h.,  foaled  1875,  trotted 
close  to  2.40  ;  Black  Diamond,  foaled  1867,  rec.  close  to  2.40.     All  the 
!  horses  named,  excepting  Young  Woodstock  and  Woodstock  Prince,  are, 
i  or  were,  large  horses,  averaging   fifteen  and   three  quarters  hands,  and 
I  weighing  from   eleven  hundred    to  twelve   hundred   pounds.      Hermit 
I  proved  the  best  sire  for  trotters,  as  he  can  be  registered  as  standard  on 
I  account  of  his  record  and  the  record  of  his  get. 

"^  The  Vermont  Horse  Stock  Company  started  their  breeding  stud  at 
Shelburne  in  1871.  They  introduced  some  very  high-bred  horses.  A 
horse  now  owned  by  C.  Morgan,  of  South  Woodstock,  was  by  one  of 
them,  —  "  The  Woodburn  Pilot."  Mr.  Morgan's  horse  is  a  bay,  foaled 
in  1873,  dam  Morgan  blood,  and  is  the  only  Pilot  horse  that  has  been 
owned  or  kept  at  Woodstock.     His  stock  is  promising. 

The  Hambletonian  blood  has  been  bred  to  a  certain  extent  at  Wood- 
stock since  1876.  The  cross  promises  speed,  and  it  is  believed  Wood- 
stock will  soon  have  the  credit  of  raising  one  or  more  of  the  2.30 
horses. 

Frederick  Billings  owned  several  seasons  Gilroy,  1185,  blk.  h.,  foaled 
1875,  by  Messenger  Duroc,  106  ;  dam  by  Harry  Clay,  45.  Gilroy  is  of  the 
same  blood  as  Prospero,  blk.  g. ;  Elaine,  b.  m.,  rec.  2.20  ;  and  Dame  Trot, 
b.  m.,  rec.  2.22.  Messenger  Duroc  has  fourteen  of  the  2.30  horses  to  his 
credit ;  and  fourteen  of  the  2.30  horses'  dams  are  by  Harry  Clay,  includ- 


W.  J.  Dana  Sc. 


DRACO,    I  16. 


Blk.  h.,  bred  by  Robert  Lane,  Danville,  Vt.     Foaled  1S53 ;  sire,  Young  Morrill,  118 ;  dam  by  the  Josiah 
Hoyt  Horse.     Record,  2.28^4,  and  is  credited  with  siring  three  of  the  2.30  horses.     Dead. 


HORSES   OF   WOODSTOCK.  15 

ing  the  dam  of  St.  Julian,  rec.  2. 11  J.     Gilroy  has  shown  trials  better 
than  2.30.     His  stock  indicates  great. promise  of  speed.^ 

The  stock  of  A.  W.  Thomson's  bay  horse  Extra,  1126,  is  showing 
very  promising  as  to  speed.  The  first  one  of  his  get,  as  a  six-year-old, 
showed  a  trial  in  2.36|,  and  a  half  in  1.16.  Extra  is  sixteen  hands 
high,  and  weighs  eleven  hundred  pounds;  was  by  Lockwood,  1125; 
dam  by  Woodstock,  873  ;  grandam,  the  dam  of  Susie  Taylor,  by  the 
Harpiu  horse,  or  Young  St.  Lawrence  ;  great-grandam  by  the  Walker 
horse.  Lockwood  sire,  Aberdeen  27,  is  the  sire  of  thirteen  of  the  2.30 
horses,  and  is  of  the  same  blood  as  Dexter,  2.17^.  Woodstock,  Gilroy 
and  Extra  are  the  only  standard  horses  that  have  yet  been  owned  or  kept 
at  Woodstock.  _ 

With  the  exception  of  the  years  1848,  1849,  1851  and  1854,  the  pres- 
ent Windsor  County  Fair  has  been  held  constantly  at  Woodstock.  The 
fine  show  exhibited  each  year  in  all  the  departments  has  made  them  very 
attractive,  and  has  caused  a  very  large  attendance,  averaging  from  five  to 
eiffht  thousand  yearly.  It  was  said  at  the  time  there  were  ten  thousand 
people  present  in  the  year  1856.  Upon  the  whole  this  fair  is  one  of  the 
best  and  most  successful  held  in  the  State,  and  having  been  held  so  long 
at  Woodstock,  it  may  be  considered  as  almost  a  part  of  the  town. 

The  trotting  has  been,  and  is,  one  of  the  great  attractions,  and  if  the 
summaries  of  all  the  races  were  published  in  book-form,  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  some  of  the  best  ones,  it  would  be  a  work  of  much  value  and 
interest.  Only  the  best  time  made,  and  a  notice  of  a  few  of  the  best 
horses,  can  be  given  here.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  fairs  at 
first  were  not  what  they  now  are,  or  what  they  came  to  be  in  a  few 
years.  The  pens  for  the  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  were  arranged  around 
the  Park.  The  horses  were  shown  in  the  street,  and  were  driven  on 
River  Street  to  show  their  speed.  The  fact  that  no  horses  were  driven 
to  sulkies  at  the  first  two  or  three  fairs,  shows  how  little  speed  in  the 
horse  was  thought  of  and  considered  then.  The  horses  were  ridden  or 
were  driven  to  the  road  wagon  to  show  their  speed. 

The  first  fair  was  held  in  the  fall  of  1846,  and  the  Southgate  or  Whit- 
ney horse,  a  son  of  Old  Gifford  Morgan,  was  awarded  the  first  premium 
as  the  best  stock  horse.  In  1847  this  was  given  to  the  Walker  horse  or 
Morgan  Tally-ho.  In  1848  the  fair  was  held  at  Springfield.  The  Bar- 
nard horse,  a  son  of  Old  Gifford,  took  the  first  premium.  The  Ken- 
tucky Gold-dust  horses  sprang  from  this  horse,  as  he  was  the  grandsire 
of  Dorsey's  Old  Gold-dust. 

In  1849  the  fair  was  held  at  Windsor,  and  the  Harlow  horse,  or  Gray 
Hawk,  took  the  first  premium.     He  was  by  the  Walker  horse,  and  a  i 
very  strong,  powerful-going  horse ;   was  considered  one   of  the  fastest  i 
1  See  "  Queries  and  Answers  "  in  The  Turf,  Field  and  Farm,  Feb.  4,  1887. 


16  HORSES   OF  WOODSTOCK. 

ones.  It  is  doubtful  if  he  could  have  beaten  three  minutes  much.  At 
first  he  was  ridden  in  his  trials  of  speed.  Mr.  Harlow  had  a  sulky  made 
for  him  in  1850.  In  1850  the  Buckman  horse,  or  Green  Mountain,  Jr., 
took  the  first  premium.  In  1851  the  fair  was  held  at  Hartford.  Edward 
Collamer's  five-year-old  chestnut  gelding  made  the  fastest  time,  2.57,  on 
a  third  of  a  mile  track.  In  1852  the  horses  were  shown  on  Mr.  Blake's 
meadow,  on  a  track  a  trifle  over  a  third  of  a  mile.  The  Benson  horse, 
a  son  of  the  Harlow  horse,  a  large  gray  horse,  showed  quite  well,  as  did 
a  bay  one  driven  by  Mr.  Cook.  The  Fraser  horse,  a  son  of  Old  GifEord, 
drew  the  first  premium. 

In  1853  the  horses  were  shown  again  on  Mr.  Blake's  meadow.  Gard- 
ner Winslow's  five-year-old  bay  gelding,  by  the  Harlow  horse,  made  the 
fastest  time,  3.23.  Jason  B.  Pierce's  four-year-old  bay  mare,  by  the 
Ransom  horse,  trotted  in  3.25.  A  $15  purse  was  trotted  for  and  won 
by  Mr.  Pike's  horse,  of  Cornish,  N.  H.  The  horses  trotted  on  time. 
The  Weston  horse,  or  Gray  Eagle,  five  years  old,  was  first  seen  at  the 
fair  this  year,  and  was  sired  by  a  son  of  a  spotted  horse  owned  in  Pom- 
fret,  known  as  the  Perry  horse.  A  gray  horse,  owned  by  Mr.  Morrill  of 
Sharon,  was  given  the  first  premium  as  the  best  stock  horse. 

In  1854  the  fair  was  held  at  Hartford,  and  several  purses  were  trotted 
for.  Mr.  Dotie's  horse  made  the  fastest  time,  2.57.  Holden  Hatch's 
three-year-old  chestnut  stallion  won  one  purse,  his  best  time  3.08 ;  he 
was  a  grandson  of  Vt.  Black  Hawk.  In  1855  the  present  grounds  were 
purchased,  and  the  fair  has  been  held  upon  them  every  year  since.  The 
fair  was  a  great  success  this  year.  The  trotting  was  very  interesting,  and 
was  all  for  premiums.  J.  J.  Bowen's  five-year-old  black  gelding  made 
the  fastest  time,  2.58.  Mr.  Weston's  Gray  Eagle  trotted  in  3.00.  Ver- 
mont Boy,  owned  at  this  time  by  Mr.  Gilson,  trotted  in  3.10. 

The  fair  for  1856  was  the  largest  one  that  had  been  held ;  the  show 
in  all  the  departments  the  very  best.  The  show  of  horses  and  cattle 
never  was  larger  or  better.  The  grand  cavalcade  of  all  horses  reached 
nearly  around  the  track,  and  was  a  very  imposing  sight.  The  Carter 
horse,  or  Quechee  Boy,  won  the  premium  over  Cheney's  Lightfoot,  time 
3.00 ;  he  was  by  Old  Green  Mountain ;  was  sold  the  next  spring  and 
taken  to  Tennessee.  J.  J.  Bowen's  little  roan  mare  Bethel  Maid  was 
first  seen  this  year  at  the  fair,  and  made  the  fastest  time,  2.54.  She  was 
beaten  in  a  trial  of  speed  by  Ballard's  b.  g.  Ratler.  They  trotted  a  race 
the  next  day  after  the  fair,  and  Ratler  won ;  his  fastest  heat  was  2.52. 
They  trotted  another  race  that  fall  on  the  Woodstock  track,  and  the 
Maid  won  in  straight  heats,  her  fastest  one  2.51. 

In  1857  Vermont  Boy,  then  owned  by  Wm.  Sturtevant,  made  the 
fastest  time,  2.52  ;  he  won  the  purse  and  also  the  race  with  Cheney's 
Lightfoot.     He  was  taken  to  Tennessee  the  next  spring,  and  sold  to  the 


HORSES  OF  WOODSTOCK.  17 

parties  that  bought  the  Carter  horse.  The  Carter  horse,  or  Quechee 
Boy,  lived  but  a  short  time  after  he  was  taken  to  Tennessee. 

In  1858  Ballard's  Telegraph,  or  Kentucky  Hunter,  b.  h.,  made  the 
fastest  time,  2.51 ;  he  won  over  Gray  Eagle  or  the  Weston  horse.  A 
gray  horse  from  Rochester  was  awarded  the  premium  as  the  best  stock 
horse.  There  were  three  purses  trotted  for  after  the  fair  on  the  track. 
C.  B.  Ballard's  gr.  g.  Franklin  won  over  Bethel  Maid ;  his  fastest  heat 
2.49.  Wm.  Sturtevant's  b.  g.  Thunderbolt  beat  Brattleboro'  Maid,  best 
time  3.00 ;  and  Cheney's  b.  h.  Lightfoot  beat  the  Strong  mare  and  one 
other ;  his  fastest  heat  2.54. 

In  1859  the  trotting  for  the  premiums  was  very  interesting  and  ex- 
citing, much  more  so  than  usual.  Telegraph,  or  Kentucky  Hunter,  won 
the  big  purse  in  five  heats,  his  fastest  one  2.46.  Thunderbolt  took  one 
in  2.46.  Flying  Cloud,  or  the  Davis  horse,  won  the  premium  as  the  best 
stock  horse.  In  1860  the  fair  was  not  as  successful  as  usual,  on  account 
of  the  weather.  Telegraph,  or  Kentucky  Hunter,  won  the  big  purse 
again  ;  his  best  time  2.44.  Old  Green  Mountain,  twenty-six  years  old, 
was  shown  at  the  fair,  and  he  passed  around  the  track  followed  by  some 
dozen  of  his  sons.  Their  handsome  shape  and  color,  fine  style,  life,  and 
action,  caused  them  to  attract  much  attention  and  to  be  greatly  admired. 

In  1861  C.  B.  Ballard's  ch.  h.  Wellington  won  the  purse  after  a  very 
exciting  contest ;  best  time  2.45.  Draco  trotted  a  race  on  the  track  this 
fall,  which  was  not  much  of  a  race  ;  fastest  time  2.41;^.  L.  T.  Tucker's 
blk.  h.  Draco  won  the  $100  purse  in  1862;  his  best  time  2.33|.  This 
was  a  very  exciting  race,  as  the  little  bay  mare  Empress  took  the  first 
heat  in  2.31.  The  rest  of  the  trotting  was  very  interesting.  In  1863 
Draco  won  the  $100  purse  over  Woodstock ;  best  time  2.39.  His  son, 
Draco,  Jr.,  or  the  Henry  horse,  won  a  purse  ;  best  time  3.00.  The  trot- 
ting in  1864  was  rather  a  failure  on  account  of  the  rain,  and  some  being 
afraid  to  trot  their  horses.  Woodstock  won  the  big  purse  ;  his  com- 
petitor was  a  mare  called  Lakeshore  Maid,  but  really  the  old  trotter, 
Miller's  Damsel.  Draco  was  on  the  ground,  but  was  not  entered.  He 
trotted  the  next  week  after  the  fair  on  the  track  in  2.34 ;  his  son  Draco 
Prince,  then  four,  trotted  a  race  with  Alpine  Boy.  Alpine  Boy  won  the 
first  heat  in  3.07.  Woodstock  trotted  a  public  trial  at  the  fair  in  1865  in 
2.33  ;  first  half  1.14.  Draco,  Jr.,  or  the  Henry  horse,  won  the  race  over 
Green  Mountain  Banner  ;  best  time  2.53.  Banner  has  proved  a  much 
better  sire  for  trotters  than  the  Henry  horse,  as  he  has  two  of  his  get  in 
the  2.30  list.  In  1866  the  big  purse  was  trotted  for  by  the  W.  H. 
Walker  bay  gelding  Richmond,  and  General  Stark,  when  the  bay  gelding 
won ;  best  time,  2.49,  being  made  by  General  Stark.  Two  races  were 
trotted  on  the  track  after  the  fair,  W.  H.  Walker's  bay  gelding  winning 
over  Richmond,  best  time  2.46,  and  the  Henry  horse  taking  the  other, 


18  HORSES   OF   WOODSTOCK. 

which  was  a  sham  race.  In  1867  C.  B.  Ballard's  gray  mare  Snow- 
flake  won  her  first  race  at  the  fair ;  best  time  2A0^.  The  five-year-old 
chestnut  gelding  Joe  Hunker  won  a  very  interesting  race ;  best  time 
2.49.  He  has  since  trotted  close  to  2.30.  In  1868  Mountain  Girl,  ch. 
m.,  won  the  big  purse  over  Snowflake  in  four  heats  ;  her  best  time,  which 
was  the  fastest,  2.36.  Snowflake  was  lame.  It  rained  so  the  third  day 
that  the  fair  was  postponed  one  week.  In  1869  Snowflake  won  the  big 
purse  ;  best  time  2.38f .  The  five-year-old  bay  gelding  American  Boy, 
by  Woodstock,  showed  quite  well,  winning  two  races  over  Susie  Taylor 
and  Maggie  Mitchell,  and  getting  a  record  of  2.47^. 

The  trotting  for  the  big  purse  in  1870  was  a  failure  as  far  as  any  time 
being  made  or  any  interest  felt  in  the  trotting.  The  six-year-old  bay 
gelding  Fred  Billings,  by  Woodstock,  won  a  very  interesting  race  in 
straight  heats  ;  fastest  time  2.50.  In  1871  Snowflake  won  the  big  purse, 
and  made  her  fastest  time  on  the  track,  2.34.  Henry  Wood's  four-year- 
old  Cassius  Prince  got  a  record  of  2.57^,  and  was  but  a  neck  behind 
Young  Cassius  in  2.55. 

In  1872  Fred  Billings  won  the  big  purse ;  best  time  2.40^.  The  track 
was  lapped  for  him.  The  brown  stallion  Hermit,  by  Woodstock,  won  the 
stallion  race  ;  best  time  2.39.  General  Lyon,  2.3 6|^,  br.  h.,  by  Old  Mor- 
rill, was  shown  at  the  fair. 

In  1873  Fred  Billings  won  the  big  purse  over  American  Boy ;  fastest 
heat  2.40.  The  little  bay  stallion  Tarn  O'Shanter,  by  Green  Mountain 
Banner,  dam  by  Ethan  Allen,  won  the  stallion  race  over  Cassius  Prince, 
Hermit,  and  Robert  Bonner  in  straight  heats  ;  best  time  2.37^. 

In  1874  the  bay  mare  Kitty  Cook,  by  Abraham,  won  the  big  purse ; 
her  fastest  heat  2.34  ;  if  she  had  not  been  held  in  the  last  quarter,  would 
have  trotted  in  2.31  or  2.32.  Cassius  Prince  won  one  race;  best  time 
2.39.     The  track  was  made  full  length  this  year. 

In  1875  A.  H.  Danforth's  chestnut  gelding  Gifford  Boy  won  two  races, 
beating  Snowflake ;  his  best  time  2.36.  In  1876  there  were  over  $600 
offered  in  four  purses.  The  large  purse  was  $300,  and  was  won  by  the 
chestnut  gelding  Unknown  in  four  heats,  beating  Bristol  Bill  and  Young 
Ratler,  Bristol  Bill  taking  the  first  heat  in  2.33^.  The  fastest  heat  was 
2.30^. 

In  1877  Jeremiah,  blk.  g.,  by  Hermit,  won  the  $150  purse ;  best  time 
2.44.  The  b.  m.  May  Day,  by  Ballard's  C.  M.  Clay,  won  one  purse,  best 
time  2.42 ;  and  Ruby,  ch.  m.,  by  Ballard's  C.  M.  Clay,  won  a  purse,  fast- 
est time  2.42i. 

In  1878  Quechee  Maid,  by  Ballard's  C.  M.  Clay,  won  the  big  purse; 
her  fastest  heat  2.33.  Annie  Lou,  by  Daniel  Lambert,  won  a  race,  her 
fastest  time  2.40 ;  and  the  black  stallion  Lyon  Slasher  won  a  purse,  his 
fastest  heat  2.46. 


DANIEL   LAMBERT. 


Ch.  h.,  foaled  1858,  by  Ethan  Allen;  dam  Fanny  Cook,  by  Abdallah  I.  Second  dam  by  Stockholm's 
American  Star.  Bred  by  W.  H.  Cook,  Ticonderoga,  N.  Y.  ;  now  owned  by  Joseph  Battel!,  Middle- 
bury,  Vt.     At  the  close  of  1886  twenty-eight  of  his  get  in  the  2.30  list. 

\,E7igraving  loaned  by  Joseph  Battell,  Esq.'\ 


HORSES   OF   WOODSTOCK.  19 

In  1879  Annie  Lou  won  the  big  purse  ;  her  fastest  heat  2.35  J.  Ruby 
won  a  race,  best  time  2.42J.  Tommy,  by  Daniel  Lambert,  won  two 
heats,  and  made  a  dead  heat  in  2.43.  The  bay  stallion  Lockwood,  by 
Aberdeen,  won  a  race  in  straight  heats  ;  best  time  2.47J. 

In  1880  Colonel  Peabody's  b.  g.,  by  Daniel  Lambert,  won  the  big 
purse;  his  fastest  heat  2.36^.  Susie  L.,  ch.  m.,  by  Daniel  Lambert,  won 
two  races ;  her  fastest  heat  2.39|.  Wild  Dandy,  gr.  g.,  won  a  purse  ;  his 
best  time  2.38.  Green  Mountain  Boy,  b.  h.,  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  won 
a  race ;  his  fastest  heat  2.41. 

In  1881  the  bay  mare  Topsy  D.  won  the  big  purse  ;  her  fastest  heat 
2.36.  Jessie,  b.  m.,  by  Hermit,  won  a  purse  ;  her  best  time  2.40.  Lock- 
wood  won  the  stallion  race  ;  his  best  heat  2.48. 

In  1882  E.  A.  Perry's  b.  m.  Susan  P.,  by  Cassius  Prince,  won  two 
races ;  her  fastest  heat  2.41^.  Hermit  won  the  stallion  race ;  best  time 
2.54. 

In  1883  Mountain  Boy,  b.  h.,  by  Daniel  Lambert,  won  one  purse ;  his 
fastest  heat  2.37.  Chromo,  b.  h.,  by  Ballard's  C.  M.  Clay,  won  the  large 
purse,  his  best  time  2.38,  and  he  won  the  stallion  race.  Frank  D.,  b.  g., 
by  Defiance,  won  a  purse ;  best  time  2.37. 

There  were  eight  hundred  dollars  in  four  races  trotted  for  this  fall  on 
the  Woodstock  track,  October  26  and  27.  The  chestnut  mare  Ellen,  by 
Daniel  Lambert,  won  the  big  purse  in  a  hard  race  of  six  heats,  beating 
Ned  Hastings,  Frank  D.,  and  Fanny  P. ;  her  fastest  heat  2.36.  Ned 
Hastings  won  the  second  and  fourth  heat  in  2.36  and  2.37.  Frank  D. 
took  the  third  in  2.37.  Frank  D.  won  one  purse,  his  best  time  2.38 ; 
and  Limber  Jim  won  two,  his  best  time  2.44. 

In  1884  Driver,  b.  g.,  2.19^,  by  Volunteer,  won  the  large  purse;  his 
fastest  heat  2.30^.  Dasie  Dean,  gr.  m.,  won  one  purse ;  her  fastest  heat 
2.44^.     Joel  Todd,  gr.  g.,  won  a  purse  ;  his  best  time  2.43. 

In  1885  Driver  won  the  big  purse  again  ;  fastest  heat  2.36.  Little 
Hopes,  b.  h.,  by  Blackstone,  won  two  races  ;  his  best  time  2.41.  The 
trotting  for  the  premiums  was  very  close  and  interesting. 

In  1886  the  brown  gelding  John  S.,  by  DeLong's  Ethan  Allen,  made 
the  fastest  time,  2.36.  He  won  two  races.  The  chestnut  gelding  Ben, 
by  Almot,  won  two  races  ;  his  fastest  heat  2.40.  The  trotting  premiums 
were  closely  contested  for,  and  good  time  was  made  by  the  winning 
horses. 

The  trotting  up  to  about  1860  was  for  premiums  and  for  county  horses. 
This  protective  policy  gave  the  owners  of  the  county  horses  a  fair  chance, 
which  they  improved,  as  the  trotting  for  the  premiums  was  very  close, 
interesting,  and  exciting,  much  more  than  it  has  been  since  for  some  of 
the  big  purses.     The  trotting  premiums  were  cut  down  for  a  few  years, 


20  HORSES  OF   WOODSTOCK. 

and  then  were  dropped,  and  the  trotting  was  for  purses  open  to  all 
horses.  This  was  hard  on  the  county  horses,  as  they  stood  no  chance 
with  the  trained  horses  and  ringers  that  were  allowed  to  come  in.  The 
result  was  that  a  large  share  of  the  purses  were  won  by  horses  owned 
out  of  the  county  and  out  of  the  State.  This  anti-protective  policy  has 
greatly  discouraged  the  training  of  the  county  horses.  The  trotting  for 
the  large  purse  has  often  been  a  mere  farce,  not  so  interesting  as  the 
trotting  for  some  of  the  ten-dollar  premiums.  The  large  purse  has  been 
considered  the  property  of  the  owner  or  owners  of  a  certain  horse,  as  it 
has  been  won  for  several  successive  fairs  by  a  certain  horse.  A  county 
horse  can  win  the  premium  but  once,  and  why  should  a  horse  from  any 
part  of  the  country  be  allowed  to  win  the  big  purse  more  than  once  ? 

Within  a  few  years  premiums  for  trotting  have  been  offered  again,  and 
<^e  trotting  for  them  has  been  very  interesting  and  fast,  and  it  has  greatly 
encouraged  and  stimulated  the  owners  of  county  horses  to  show  their 
horses,  and  it  would  still  more  encourage  them  if  part  of  the  purses  were 
only  for  county  horses. 

A  premium  of  $100  has  been  offered,  open  to  all  stallions,  to  be  shown 
with  five  or  more  of  their  get.  It  must  be  a  very  interesting  sight  to  see 
a  number  of  the  best  horses  in  the  country  shown  together  with  five  or 
more  of  their  colts.  Breeders  would  have  a  good  chance  to  judge  of  their 
respective  merits. 


STANDARD  OF  ADMISSION  TO  REGISTRATION. 


ESTABLISHED   BY  THE    NATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   TEOTTING 
HORSE   BREEDERS. 

In  order  to  define  what  constitutes  a  trotting-bred  horse  and  to  estab- 
lish a  breed  of  trotters  on  a  more  intelligent  basis,  the  following  rules  are 
adopted  to  control  admission  to  the  records  of  pedigrees.  When  an  ani- 
mal meets  the  requirements  of  admission  and  is  duly  registered,  it  shall 
be  accepted  as  a  standard  trotting  animal. 

1st.  —  Any  stallion  that  has  himself  a  record  of  two  minutes  and  thirty 
seconds  (2.30)  or  better,  provided  any  of  his  get  has  a  record  of  2.40  or 
better,  or  provided  his  sire  or  his  dam,  his  grandsire  or  his  grandam,  is 
already  a  standard  animal. 

2d.  —  Any  mare  or  gelding  that  has  a  record  of  2.30  or  better. 

3d.  — Any  horse  that  is  the  sire  of  two  animals  with  a  record  of  2.30 
or  better. 

4th.  —  Any  horse  that  is  the  sire  of  one  animal  with  a  record  of  2.30 
or  better,  provided  he  has  either  of  the  following  qualifications:  1.  Rec- 
ord himself  of  2.30  or  better.  2.  Is  the  sire  of  two  other  animals  with 
a  record  of  2.40  or  better.  3.  Has  a  sii-e  or  dam,  grandsire  or  grandam, 
that  is  already  a  standard  animal. 

5th.  —  Any  mare  that  has  produced  an  animal  with  a  record  of  2.30 
or  better. 

6th.  —  The  progeny  of  a  standard  horse  when  out  of  a  standard  mare. 

7th.  —  The  progeny  of  a  standard  horse  out  of  a  mare  by  a  standard 
horse. 

8th.  —  The  progeny  of  a  standard  horse  when  out  of  a  mare  whose 
dam  is  a  standard  mare. 

9th.  —  Any  mare  that  has  a  record  of  2.40  or  better,  and  whose  sire 
or  dam,  grandsire  or  grandam,  is  a  standard  horse. 

10th.  — A  record  to  wagon  of  2.35  or  better  shall  be  regarded  as  equal 
to  a  2.30  record. 


